Month: December 2023

In just a few days, the calendar year 2023 ends and we move on to 2024.  It’s a time to reflect on what went down in the past 12 months and it’s hard to give this year a grade or rating.  It sure as shit was an up and down ride.

January didn’t start out well when I had to put Trouble, my beloved 17 ½ year old kitty cat to sleep due to old age physical ailments.  It happened the day after my birthday and was the right thing to do at the right time.  I’ve been through the loss of other cats and dogs over the years but no matter how many times that experience happens, it NEVER gets any easier.  This is the first time in almost sixty years that I’ve lived in a house without at least one pet.

This portrait of Trouble was sent to me by my friend Kelly Jourdan Duff. Best gift I got all year!

And yet, with the hurt of losing my furry family member, the outpouring of Facebook posts and the calls & emails I got about Trouble were a huge help.  Many have offered assistance and encouragement in me getting another cat and I appreciate all that input.  In 2024, I hope to adopt two kitties at the same time so they can keep each other company while I’m at school teaching.

My favorite picture of Trouble who photo bombs me. He was never far from my side.

The spring brought the sad details of my East End Pool swim pal Paul suffering a debilitating stroke.  I visited Paul several times at an Oak Brook nursing care facility and have seen him at his more recent locale as well.

My East End swim buddy Paul in a recent photo at his nursing home. I visited him several times and need to get back and see him to talk more sports and music.

Then came the news that blew away me and my fellow Swain-Mitchell boys; that our childhood and close friend Tom Hassler had a brain tumor and needed surgery plus radiation and chemotherapy.  He battled hard through the treatments but passed away on December 10^th.  Me and all who knew and loved Tommy are heartbroken.  I’m so grateful I got to see him one last time back in late October. While my pal was in a mostly comatose state, he did react to some of the warm memories I shared.  Tom’s services will be held after the holidays and I’ll have more to say about him at that time. I feel like a lost a brother.

Tom Hassler surrounded by dear pals at his daughter Kendall’s wedding. His brother Pete is in the glasses sitting behind him. Tom and Pete were the first two best friends I ever had.

2023 was more than gloomy health news.  There was the birth of my second grand-niece Julia Nagy in the late summer.  Big sister Eliza is a living doll and she adores her new sibling.  My nephew Mike (named after me 33 years ago) and his wife Maggie are the most incredibly loving parents.

Cuteness overload with Eliza and baby sister Julia.

Another bright spot was my brother- in-law Jack marrying his longtime love, Lori.  My sister Marianne was Jack’s first wife until she passed away in November of 2014. A few years later he started dating Lori.  I am beyond thrilled for Jack and know my sister would want her surviving mate to move forward in his life, just as she did at age 27 when she lost her first husband Gary to cancer.  Jack was such a devoted husband to Marianne and remains a fantastic father to my nephew Mike and niece Dei. His retirement years get to be happily spent with Lori & her kids, and of course his granddaughters.

Grandpa Jack Nagy and his granddaughter Julia. Love the joy on their faces!

As for me, things went well.  School teaching at Parkland Preparatory Academy continues to be my passion and frequent challenge.  (That’s what makes it fun) Seeing more of my kiddos graduate this past spring and here in December was beyond gratifying.

The summer swim season was a good one and I got to better know some of the lady ‘water walkers’ at East End Pool.  Peggy B is one of those pool regulars and we both realized that she was one of my swim instructors at York Commons Pool 55 years ago. Since I haven’t drowned yet, Peggy did a good job!

I finished the final, final edit of my media memoir “Raised on the Radio” and am in the process of learning all I need to know about self-publishing to Amazon. 

Bottom line- the year was a mixed bag of sad and bad news for people who mean much to me but there were some bright spots too.   

So as 2023 prepares for its exit, I want to wish those of you who read my posts a safe and wonderful holiday season and a healthy and Happy New Year. 

Last selfie (I hate that word) of the year.

FYI- I’ll be taking a few weeks off from blogs and catch up to you again in 2024.

It was ten years ago (December 18^{th, 2013}) when Chicago radio legend Larry Lujack passed away from esophageal cancer at the age of 73.  Despite being away from the media spotlight for several years while retired in New Mexico, news of his death was a big deal story back here. It was also a big topic for anyone who worked in professional radio across the country and were influenced by the self-proclaimed ‘Superjock.’  To this day, Larry is still remembered, revered and most of all missed.

The always charming and delightful Ole Uncle Lar…

Most of you know I was Larry’s producer at WLS AM for two and a half years until he retired for the first time in the late summer of 1987.  Despite our professional separation, Larry and I remained in contact and close friends until he left this world.  We’d conduct hour long phone calls to each other two to three times a year.  I even spent several days staying with him and wife Jude in Santa Fe at his invitation. 

I’d love to share loads of details of our working and post-working relationship but much of that will be read in my yet to be published media memoir “Raised on the Radio.”  Larry would appreciate me holding back right now.  Back when we worked together, before shows when I had personal happenings or comments to share with Larry he’d say, “Don’t tell me now, save it for the show!”  Duly noted.

However, I can give you a few teasers.  (As Lar would say, that’s good “Quarter hour listening maintenance.”) 

I was a fan of Lujack’s since the age of twelve.  My sarcastic humor and outlook on things often mirrored his. That’s what drew me to being an ardent follower of his radio show, first on WCFL and then when he returned to WLS for the second and final time.

Superjock Larry Lujack doing his thing on the air.

From age 16 on, I aspired to work in radio.  However, being hired to be Larry’s producer, writer and on-air co-conspirator was NEVER in my playbook.  As only a few people know, LARRY CAME LOOKING FOR ME. HE DID THERECRUITING!  That whole crazy story will be shared in my book. 

Of course, my book will also have loads of stories about my other three radio stops, at WCKG, WKQX, Q-101 with Robert Murphy and my decade at country music beacon WUSN, US*99.  The road that took me to a twenty-year career in radio will also be in “Raised on the Radio.”

But back to the subject at hand, Larry Lujack.  I so much miss the laughs we shared on those phone calls.  I miss my friend and wish I could tell him one more time how he changed my life.  I don’t know where things would have gone for me without him and to be one of the very few lucky enough to be in Uncle Lar’s inner circle until his passing remains a cherished honor. 

I do believe in an afterlife and I hope to get to tell him those things when it’s my turn to leave this world.  Until then, as Larry would say, “Save it for the show!”

Larry at home in Santa Fe. Always missed and never forgotten!

NEXT BLOG- Saying goodbye to 2023.

There’s a scene in the late 80’s movie “Murphy’s Romance” where Murphy (played by James Garner) is buying his favorite shirt at a store.  The store clerk complains he should try a different kind of shirt but Murphy holds true to his own choice.  The clerk then tells him he’s out of style and Murphy smiles and says, “I wouldn’t doubt it for a minute.”  I can identify with staying with the tried, true and favorites.  Here are three examples.

SIMPSONS WALL CALENDAR- After a one-year hiatus from having a Simpsons calendar, I have one set for 2024.  Let me explain- Since 1993, I’ve had a Simpsons calendar hanging in my house each year.  Yes, a little old school for the I-pad, Apple watch thriving so many people do, but I like the visual of a wall calendar to suit my daily needs. The reason I passed on ordering one for 2023 was the year before that, my calendar was printed with Monday being the first day posted on the far left.  This screwed me up for all of 2022.  It was a total break from most calendars which have Sunday as the first spot on the left.  So, when I saw 2023’s Simpsons calendar was set up the same as 2022’s, I passed on it (breaking the thirty-year tradition) and opted for a Major League baseball stadium calendar.  But now the makers of the Simpsons calendars wised up and went back to Sunday being the first day on the left for each month so now I start a new streak of ordering that calendar for my wall.

And I sure hope 2024 is a better year in the world and for all of us than 2023 has been.

Thanks to the printers going back to traditional calendar grids, I’m back with a Simpsons wall calendar for 2024.

I like to keep life consistent whenever possible in other ways too.  Case in point, my VH-1 key ring fob that I’ve had bind my car and house keys since 1992.  I got this once green colored but now faded to dull gray charm while attending one of the coolest concerts I ever saw. The fob was in a goodie bag given out to guests at a VH-1 event held at the WTTW studios in Chicago.  I was one of about a hundred folks who witnessed a two-hour acoustic performance by Neil Young.  It was just Neil and his guitar playing tracks from his newly released “Harvest Moon” album along with songs dating all the way back to his days with Buffalo Springfield.  I remember him opening the show with the timeless classic track “Mr. Soul.”  Young also brought along a pipe organ which was saved for his last song of the night, a haunting version of “Like a Hurricane.”  That was a special night of music and that VH-1 key ring fob has been with me ever since.

It’s well worn but still durable. My VH-1 key ring fob.

CHECK HOLDER– For years, like anyone else, I had a bank issued checkbook.  A flimsy plastic binder that held a load of to be used checks and my register.  Then at Christmas of 1994, I asked my mother for a leather-bound check holder.  The idea came to me when I remembered seeing the leather check holder my dear friend and mentor Lee Swanson used to have.  His was emblazoned with the Record Gallery logo, which was a music store he owned back in the 70’s.  Lee had just passed away a couple months before Christmas of 1994 and I was thinking of him and how I wanted a similar leather-bound check holder.  I’ve had that same check holder for almost thirty years and will use it until it’s my time to leave this world.

My leather checkbook holder. I’ve had this one since 1994.

So, while there’s nothing wrong with the new, with certain things, I prefer some personal items that are tried and true. 

NEXT BLOG- Ringing out 2023 and ringing in 2024.